Europeans Agree to Consider Changes on Trade
President Trump on Wednesday declared a “new phase” in the relationship between the U.S. and the European Union, agreeing to hold off on proposed car tariffs and work with the EU to resolve their dispute over metals duties, while also promoting bilateral trade.
Speaking in the Rose Garden of the White House alongside European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, Trump said the U.S. and the EU had agreed to “work together toward zero tariffs, zero non-tariff barriers and zero subsidies on non-auto industrial goods.”
“This was a very big day for free and fair trade,” Trump said. He said the U.S. and EU would “resolve” the steel and aluminum tariffs he imposed earlier this year and the retaliatory tariffs the EU imposed in response.
He said the EU had agreed “almost immediately” begin buying more U.S. soybeans and that the European bloc had agreed to increase LNG exports from the U.S. The EU will be a “massive buyer” of LNG, Mr. Trump said.
“I had the intention to make a deal today,” said Juncker. “And we made a deal today. “
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.7% Wednesday following the news.
In Senate testimony, Pompeo reaffirms U.S. policy on Crimea after Helsinki meeting
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo defended the administration’s handling of Russia and the Helsinki summit by laying out what he says are a list of tough Trump administration responses to Russia. Pompeo also said that the U.S. would not recognize Russia’s annexation of Crimea.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, speaking before senators, told lawmakers that President Trump fully understands Russia's attack on the 2016 presidential election.
"Finally, I want you to know, President Trump has stated that he accepts our intelligence community's conclusion that Russia meddled in the 2016 election," Pompeo said.
Pompeo said he personally "made clear that there will be severe consequences for interference in our democratic processes."
Trump's performance at the meeting drew criticism after he declined to endorse the U.S. government's assessment that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election, saying he doesn't "see any reason why" Russia would be responsible.
Cohen Tapes
President Donald Trump blasted his former attorney Michael Cohen on Wednesday, the morning after CNN aired the audio of a recording Cohen made of the two.
"What kind of a lawyer would tape a client? So sad! Is this a first, never heard of it before? Why was the tape so abruptly terminated (cut) while I was presumably saying positive things? I hear there are other clients and many reporters that are taped - can this be so? Too bad!" Trump tweeted.
In the audio aired first on CNN's "Cuomo Prime Time," Trump and Cohen can be heard discussing how they would buy the rights to former Playboy model Karen McDougal's story about an alleged affair she had with Trump between 2006-2007, which Trump denies. The audio also features Trump and Cohen discussing other matters, including an attempt by The New York Times to unseal the records from Trump's first divorce and mentioning pastor Mark Burns, a Trump supporter.
The muffled audio includes a discussion between Cohen and Trump about what seems like a transaction involving American Media Inc. chief David Pecker.
“I need to open up a company for the transfer of all of that info regarding our friend David,” Cohen says to Trump.
American Media Inc. owns the National Enquirer, a publication with which Karen McDougal, the former model, signed a $150,000 deal in exchange for her story on Trump. (The Wall Street Journal reported on the deal between McDougal and American Media Inc. in November 2016.)
In April, Karen McDougal reached a settlement with American Media that released her from an agreement that barred her from speaking publicly about the alleged affair.
Cohen is under criminal investigation by the US attorney's office in Manhattan for his personal financial dealings, including the payment he made to porn actress Stormy Daniels on Trump's behalf before the election, though he has not been charged with any wrongdoing.
From the beginning of Donald Trump’s campaign, American Media Inc. (A.M.I.) promoted Trump and savaged his opponents, sometimes with unsubstantiated stories alleging poor health, extramarital affairs and the use of prostitutes. By burying Karen McDougal’s story during the campaign in a practice known in the tabloid industry as “catch and kill,” A.M.I. protected Trump from negative publicity that could have harmed his election chances, spending money to do so.
The authorities believe that the company was not always operating in what campaign finance law calls a “legitimate press function,” according to the people briefed on the investigation, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
The company completed the deal with Karen McDougal in August 2016, paying $150,000 for rights to publish fitness columns under her name and for exclusive rights to her story about the affair, which Mr. Trump’s representatives have denied. (After the campaign she negotiated permission to answer press questions about the alleged relationship, and later successfully sued to break the agreement.)
If evidence shows that Mr. Cohen was consulting with A.M.I. about the arrangement, and that the intention of the deal was to protect Mr. Trump’s election prospects, then the publisher and Mr. Cohen could be exposed to election law violations. Corporations are barred from spending money to influence election outcomes in coordination with federal campaigns and candidates. Campaigns cannot accept individual donations of more than $5,400 per election cycle.
If the National Enquirer is faced with campaign finance charges, which would be extraordinary for a news organization, the company could argue that its executives did not know the ins and outs of the laws they were alleged to have violated. Under criminal provisions, prosecutors would have to prove the violation was “knowing and willful,” said Brendan Fischer, the director of federal reform at the Campaign Legal Center.
On the other hand, the Trumpncampaign could argue that Cohen acted on his behalf without Trump’s knowledge, as his lawyer rather than an agent of his campaign. Rudy Giuliani appeared to lay the groundwork for such an argument on Friday when he said that the conversation captured on the tape, which took place weeks after A.M.I. completed the McDougal deal, appeared to be the first time Trump had heard about the arrangement and was therefore “exculpatory.”
Liberal appeals court affirms that open carry is protected by the Second Amendment
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals based in San Francisco ruled on Tuesday that the Second Amendment protects the right to openly carry a gun in public for self-defense.
The court ruled 2-1 that Hawaii officials had violated George Young’s rights when he was denied a permit to openly carry a loaded gun in public to protect himself.
This decision reversed a lower court ruling that sided with officials who said the amendment only applied to guns kept in homes.
The panel ruled that Hawaii law violated the Second Amendment, saying, “The right to bear arms must guarantee some right to self-defense in public.” Hawaii's law restricts open carry permits only to people involved in law enforcement or security except under "exceptional" cases.
The Hawaii laws have been appealed before; this is the first time the appeals court has ruled to overturn them.
Pew Research Poll: Plurality of Americans view ICE unfavorably
A new survey of public attitudes shows that Republicans and Democrats have diametrically opposing views of the immigration and customs enforcement agency (ICE), and the differences are particularly stark between conservative Republicans and liberal Democrats.
Nearly eight-in-ten conservative Republicans (77%) view ICE favorably, with 40% expressing a very favorable opinion. Among moderate and liberal Republicans, views are less positive (62% give ICE a favorable rating, including 29% who say they view it very favorably).
A large majority of liberal Democrats (82%) view ICE unfavorably, with 53% viewing the agency very unfavorably. Conservative and moderate Democrats feel less negatively about ICE (60% unfavorable, 35% very unfavorable).
22% of the U.S. population does not speak English at home
A report from the Migration Policy Institute found that 22% of the US population does not speak English at home. 13.5% of the U.S. population, which is approximately 44 million people, is foreign born. This is the highest level ever.
Spanish was the top non-English language spoken at home in the country overall and in the 15 fastest-growing states. With one exception: Alaska, where Eskimo–Aleut and other Native American languages predominated. At the national level, the next four languages spoken at home were Chinese, Tagalog, Vietnamese, and Arabic.
The number of immigrants in the last eight years increased 9 percent, the foreign-born population surged 15 percent or more in 15 states. The report said those states are: North Dakota, West Virginia, South Dakota, Delaware, Nebraska, Minnesota, Wyoming, Pennsylvania, Alaska, Indiana, Florida, Nevada, Washington, Iowa, and Maryland.
Mail Time!
- The Media has a great challenge in front of them, they must keep President Trump front and center for all their hatred so they can keep what viewers they have..... but they really need President Trump re-elected otherwise what will they do for news?
- Bill, longtime listener here. Democrats would have us believe that the Intel community is beyond reproach, even though there is a lot of evidence to the contrary. From movies like Oliver Stone's JFK and a few books I have read over the years, it seems as though there were other times in our history i.e. 1950's and 1960's when the Intel community had nefarious dealings. I was wondering where you stand on the JFK-era agencies versus today's FBI and CIA. Thanks and keep up the valuable work you do!
- Bill because the media forgets about the regular news there are many good stories out there and it’s great that you are finding them and telling us about them.
Word of the Day: Turgid |
